The primary purpose of this proposal is to determine the continuing medical education modalities available to and utilized by practicing Maryland physicians. A major result of this project will be the development of a manual which would be a guide for those responsible for the planning, development, and implementation of continuing medical education programs. The specific objectives of this proposal are concerned with obtaining data from a sample of 750 practicing Maryland physicians as to the methods and modalities by which they presently acquire their continuing medical education. The physicians will also be asked to indicate their knowledge of and preference for alternative ways of obtaining their continuing education. Target physicians will be selected from internal medicine, general practice, general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and pediatrics. Information will be gathered by a carefully structured questionnaire from which the data can readily be abstracted, coded and analyzed by computer. A careful follow-up by phone and personal interview is planned to maximize the number of returns. The Office of Medical Education and the Program for Continuing Education of the University of Maryland School of Medicine will cooperatively manage and conduct the grant. The state medical society has also agreed to support the grant efforts by encouraging practitioners to participate in this study.